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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1985-08-28, Page 29Page 12A Times -Advocate, August 28, 1985 CROP UPDATE VISITORS — Shown in conversation at Wednesday's Crop Update at Centralia College are Allan Haugh of the Brucefield area and local farmers Bob Choffe and Bill Pincombe. T -A photo v x :.• X,�. 1r• �, �' wqf 1111 `*•-••:. .� , _X 1111 - - _. "+'"'°Ilil..•.-' :.cD gyp., i' f!', "i s,r �'� ,.moa' ;::^' , yr., .� *Av. CROPS UPDATE — Pat Lynch of Cyanamid pf Canada and a former OMAF crops specialist talks about crop scouting a Wednesday's Crops Update at Centralia College. T -A photo The setting sun makes it look so ap- pealing: the tractor silhouetted against the evening sky, a lazy trail of dust behind it. In the distance is a stout farmhouse, a snug barn and a full silo. It looks so peaceful, rustic, bucolic, so safe and warm. An it is except that it is dangerous and getting more dangerous every day. The accidental death rate among farmers is third only to construction workers and underground miners, the two traditionally most dangerous oc- cupations in Canada. The third used to be lumbering but not any more. It Watch for the Parkhill Merchants 3-B s Coming Next Week PARKHILL Becker's Farm Equipment RED POWER DAY Thurs., Sept. 5, 1985 Don Rader Farm, 1'/4 miles east of Dashwood on Hwy. 83. (See next weeks paper for details) Pre -Red Power Day Specials Cash Price - No trade IH 1460 Axial flow combine c/w 15' flex head, loaded with options. Excellent cond. plus (6 row N corn head also available) Now $49,500 IH 4600 vibra thank cultivator. 30' width dual wing wheels. c / w hyd. lift equipment. Now $7,950 IH 6500 conser-till plow. 11' width. Hyd. lift on disc. Cushioned spring shanks. Now $6,700 Don't Miss Out V Becker 8 Sons Ltd • •••• •••••••• . .01,11 Asti -11 A.• 519.237 3247 or 519 237 3673 Hwy. 83 West, Doshwood. Ontorin 53 Veers of Soles a Service Evenings 519 237 3653 (Bill) 519 236.4784 lRolphl 519 238 5445 IBob, 1 is farming. 'It can start innocently enough. The farmer stops to adjust the baler. It will take too much time to shut off the tractor. He leaves it in neutral. It takes only a fraction of a second for the rotating power -takeoff to catch his sleeve as he walks past. It can happen that easily. The rush to get a crop in when the weather is right can result in short- cuts. It always results in longer hours and bone-weary bodies. There were more than 150 farm deaths in Canada last year. More than 10,000 injuries on the farm required medical attention in 1984. How can a power -takeoff snatch an arm when all tractors have shield over the joint? It can happen easily when the shield is removed and that is what many farmers do -- take off that protective covering -- to speed up the jobs. And for any city folk reading, a power -takeoff is a spinning shaft at the rear of a tractor that drives equipment being towed by the tractor, equipment such as combines, . swathers, balers and spreaders. Without it, much of the big machinery around a farm would be useless. One of the msot tragic aspects of the whole farm picture is that many of those 150 deaths and those 10,000 in- juries involved children under 15. Few scenes are more tragic than a farm couple, after hurrying to get a job done during harvest, accidentally lose sight of a child and find him crushed under a huge tractor wheel. I was visiting a farm some years ago when the hired man on the neighboring farm was caught in a corn harvester. Not a pretty sight but the death of a child can seem so much sadder. When you work long hours your reflexes slow down and that is when the shortcut can mean a trip to the hospital or even a trip to the big cat- tle ranch in the sky.... It is tempting to take the shortcut. tempting to work that extra two hours with tractor lights buring just to get the job done. Farmers, as the coun- try should know, are having a tough year, tougher than originhlly predicted. Nobody was forecasting a boom year but revised outlooks sug- gest it could be the worst year in a long list of bad years. Net farm in- come -- what farmers have left after paying the bills -- will drop by at least 15.3 percent from last year. Statistics Canada says farm income will be $3.6 billion this year, down from $4.3 billion. What it also means is that in today's dollars, farmers will make less than they did in 1971, 14 years ago. How many people do you know who are living on less actual hard cash to- day than they did 14 years ago? Not many. So, the temptation is there to take shortcuts, to work long hours, to tum- ble into bed exhausted for two or three weeks of a month. Watch it, my friends! Don't fall in- to that trap. It may not seem ap- parent to most farmers but the rest of the world really loves you. We need you. Take your time. Tomorrow is another day. Cancer can beatien b � CANADIAN CANCER SOCIETY Authority boosts program to fight manure pollution In the past few years there has been a lot of talk about water pollution by manure. Recent findings of the On- tario Ministry of the Environment have linked livestock farmers to high bacteria levels in nearshore areas of Lake Huron. It appears to be a pro- blem that is only going to worsen unless something is done to improve manure handling and storage practises. The Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority is continuing its program to reduce water pollution from manure. This year the conservation Authority is encouraging farmers to implement pollution control measures on their farms. Farmers are also being en- couraged to take advantage of the O.S.C.E.P.A.P. grant money available for manure storage im- provement from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. Many farmers feel that it is only large intensive operations that cause water pollution. The fact is that while there may only be a few major con- tributors, there are many small sources that have in the past gone un- noticed. When you add up the effect of all these small sources, manure pollution becomes a major water 'quality problem. Consider that one cow produces the waste equivalent of about 12 people. This represents a large waste handl- ing problem. The livestock producer who says that he does not have a pollution problem is often kidding himself. We must accept that as long as we have livestock, we will have manure and hence the potential to pollute water. The question is how to make the most of manure as a resource and the least of it as a pollutant. The first step to improving water quality is to recognize the sources of water contamination on your farm. Barnyards, feedlots and manure storages are the . main sources of manure runoff. Although the amount of liquid that runs from these areas may appear to be small, it is a large problem if you consider that it pro- bably occurs on most farms in the area. Not only is runoff a potential water pollutant it also represents a significant loss in the nutritive value of the manure as a fertilizer. The most important thing is to keep runoff from entering a watercourse, tile or well. This can be done by a number of methods. Eavestroughing the surrounding roof area will limit the amount of water available to runoff. Diverting the flow of runoff across a large vegetated area will disperse the runoff allowing it to in- filtrate the ground and be used as a fertilizer by the plants. Diverting the runoff to a holding pond will contain the liquid for use as a fertilizer. Re- taining walls will contain the liquid at the sourcce for use as fertilizer. These are just a few methods for controlling manure runoff. Remedial corrections need not be expensive or elaborate to be effective. Unfor- tunately, a number of these small im- provements, such as eavestroughing and vegetative filters, are not covered Keep Canada © Beautiful - . . Pitch -In under O.S.C.E.P.A.P. In these cases the farmer must shoulder the entire cost of improve,nent. The adequacy of the manure storage grants is being examined as part of the Conservation Authority's manure management farm survey program. The Conservation Authority recognizes that pollution control measures must be practical and economically feasible tor farmers For this reason, their manure management program is concen- trating on helping the farmer to im- plement cost-effective remedial measures. If you would like more in- formation on how to improve the water quality on your farm, please contact Tracey Ryan at the Exeter Office, 235-2610. CHECKING PROGRAM — Dr. J.C. Rennie, a deputy minister with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and Kathy Biondi of Cen- tralia College check the program prior to Wednesday's official open- ing of the new research farm at the college. T -A photo 11L Exeter District Co-op Store and lumber yard Will be CLOSED FOR INVENTORY AUGUST 30 Mill open as usual Exeter District Coop 235-2081 4 Blocks West of the Fireball Agents For On tario Bean Producers Marketing Board We Are Capable Fast Efficient Service YOt 'R R(S N SS IS GR. I TE-F(Z h Y I PPRE(7,-1 TLD. If'E If 111 STRIVE TO 1 1, I ,17,1 !IT_ L YO t 'R RFT('R, V 15 If7: 11,11E 1,V THE P. -1ST. IF WE CAN BE OF ASSISTANCE - CALL (519) 232-4449 (519) 232-4447 24 HOURS SERVICE The Great Canadian Bean Company Inc.